Hayden

Wesneski

Wesneski has been out since July with a forearm strain. He’s set to be a multi-inning option out of the bullpen for the rest of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander has a 3.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 58 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings over 25 appearances (seven starts) this year.

Wesneski is currently with the Cubs, but not expected to be activated Wednesday. The right-hander threw two innings in a rehab appearance for Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, and once back, he’ll likely be a multi-inning option for the Chicago bullpen for the rest of 2024.

It’s unclear if Wesneski sustained the injury during his final start on Sunday before the All-Star break, or if it occurred while throwing during his time off, but either way he’s going to miss at least a couple of weeks. Hunter Bigge was recalled from Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move to take his place on the active roster on Saturday.

Weskneski was torched for nine runs in the first inning. Incredibly, only three of those runs would go down as earned runs after Wesneski himself committed two errors. The Cubs seemed intent on keeping the 26-year-old right-hander in the game to eat some innings. He gave up another run in the second and fourth before his day was done. Wesneski will take a 4.03 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and a 57/21 K/BB ratio across 60 1/3 innings into the All-Star break.

Wesneski retired 18 in a row after a one-out single in the first. He left with two on in the seventh after an error and a walk, but Porter Hodge got out of the jam from there. It’s Wesneski’s first win in six starts this year. He did have two wins as a reliever, though those came in his first two appearances back in April; he had a 4.74 ERA in 43 2/3 innings over 20 appearances while losing his last five decisions.

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Wesneski, who allowed a season-high five runs on Tuesday against the Phillies. Shortstop Trea Turner was responsible for the majority of that damage, as he took Wesneski deep twice while driving in three runs. Wesneski has struck out seven batters in back-to-back games and will carry a 4.14 ERA into his next start, which is set for Sunday against the Angels.

All three of the runs Wesneski allowed came on a pair of homers in the second inning. With a runner on, Michael Conforto took him deep for a two-run shot to put the Giants on the board. David Villar followed with a solo shot to go back-to-back. Wesneski retired all six batters in the third and fourth innings before his day was done. He struck out seven. The 26-year-old right-hander owns a 3.60 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and a 44/16 K/BB ratio across 45 innings. He’ll likely revert to the bullpen for long relief duties.

It’ll be Hayden versus Hayden (Birdsong, the Giants’ pitcher making his MLB debut). Wesneski hasn’t thrown more than two innings since May 13, so this won’t be a particularly long start, especially if he doesn’t perform better than he has lately; he’s given up six runs and four homers over 7 1/3 innings in his last six appearances.

The writing was seemingly on the wall after Hendricks was torched for eight runs (seven earned) over 4 2/3 innings on Friday against the Pirates. The soft-tossing 34-year-old righty has struggled mightily this season to a disastrous 10.57 ERA, 1.99 WHIP and 25/11 K/BB ratio across 30 2/3 innings (seven starts). He’ll presumably operate in mop-up duty until further notice with either Ben Brown or Hayden Wesneski likely moving into Chicago’s rotation until Jordan Wicks is ready to return from the injured list.

The Cubs will start Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon against Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, and a starter for Wednesday’s game hasn’t been announced. Wesneski has pitched well in his last three starts with a 2.20 ERA, but for now, he’s going to operate out of the bullpen which severely limits his fantasy potential.